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Shooting Video with the GoPro HERO7 Silver: Resolutions, Framerates, and Features

The GoPro HERO7 Silver is the middle model in the three cameras in the new HERO7 range. Here's a detailed rundown of its video features and options.

GoPro HERO7 Silver

By David Coleman | @havecamerawilltraveldc
Last updated about 3 months ago // Categories: Video
Tags: GoPro HERO7 Silver

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The GoPro HERO7 Silver is the middle model of the three cameras in the HERO7 range. In terms of features and price, it falls between the flagship Black model and the entry-level White model.

That’s true too of its video features, which are less powerful than the Black, but a step up from very simple and limited options of the White.

The short version is that Silver can shoot up to 4K video, has some advanced features like in-camera electronic stabilization and exposure control, but it doesn’t have the higher framerates, new HyperSmooth video stabilization method, or use the higher-quality but less-compatible HEVC video codec that’s available on the Black.

So here’s a detailed rundown on the various options and features available when shooting video with the GoPro HERO7 Silver.

Resolutions and Framerates

The top video mode of the Silver is 4K30. Put another way, it can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second. (For comparison, the Black can shoot up to 4K60.) In 4K, you can’t choose a different framerate–if you’re using NTSC format, it’s 4K30, and if you’re using PAL format, it’s 4K25.1 That resolution and framerate combination of 4K30 / 4K25 is sometimes known as UHD, or ultra-high definition, and is more than enough for sharing online–the reality is that most users won’t be viewing the footage at 4K anyway because it’s much larger than their screen’s display size. More typical resolutions for playback of video on the web are the smaller 1080p and 720p resolutions, both of which are still considered HD video.

The Silver has one other resolution available: 1440p. That’s the same width as standard 1080p video, but it’s taller, which gives more leeway vertically in where the camera is pointed. So it’s considered HD video and is suitable for general web use. Typical HD videos on the web display at either 1080p or even the smaller 720p. Here’s a visualization of how the 4K resolution compares with the 1440.

GoPro HERO7 Silver Video 4K

The 1440 resolution produces video that is 1920 pixels wide by 1440 pixels high, which is an aspect ratio of 4:3. For comparison, 1080p or standard HD video is 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high, which is a narrower aspect ratio of 16:9 that we’ve become accustomed to since HD digital TVs took over. The 4:3 aspect ratio is boxier, more typical of old-school analog TVs and analog monitors, but when you’re sharing video online, 4:3 still works well. And that little extra vertical leeway can make a difference if you’re trying to avoid framing someone’s head out of the shot. It also gives you the flexibility of cropping in post-processing if you want to stick to the 16:9 aspect ratio of 1080.

Here’s a visualization of how 1440 compares with 1080 (the 1080 is the pale blue box in the middle, while the background is 1440.

Video resolutions on the GoPro HERO7 Silver

When you’re shooting at the 1440 resolution, you have at least some choice with framerates. In NTSC format, you can choose from 60 fps or 30 fps; in PAL, it’s 50 fps or 25 fps.

Video Bitrates

The HERO7 Silver records its video at up to 60 Mb/s. That makes it much less demanding of the speed of the SD card than the Black (up to 78 Mb/s), so you have a little more wiggle room with slightly slower or older SD cards. (I’ve put together some practical SD card recommendations separately).

For the lower resolutions, it uses either 40 Mb/s or 30 Mb/s. Here’s a table showing which specific bitrates are used for the available resolution/framerate combinations.

Resolution FPS Bitrate Mb/s Mode
4K 30 60 NTSC
25 60 PAL
1440 60 40 NTSC
50 40 PAL
30 30 NTSC
25 30 PAL

The encoding uses a variable bitrate compression algorithm (H.264), so the final bitrate can fluctuate a little from clip to clip.

Audio Track

The audio track is embedded with the video stream. It’s a 128 Kbps, 2-channel, AAC track, at 48 KHz.

Fields of View

There’s one field of view available in all of the Silver’s video modes: Wide. It’s that very wide-angle fisheye look that GoPro’s are known for.

There is one qualification to that, though. It’s not exactly a different field of view, but you can work around the distortion at the edge of the frames by using the digital zoom feature (in 1440 resolution only).

Protune

The Silver doesn’t have any Protune options for video or photo modes. If you need those expert options, you’ll need to step up to the Black.

In-Camera Electronic Stabilization

The Silver has built-in electronic stabilization. It’s the older generation, not the latest HyperSmooth used in the Black edition. It works quite well, although the results won’t be as good as if you’d used a quality external gimbal stabilizer.

One thing to note is that the stabilization isn’t just on by default–it’s permanently on, and you can’t turn it off. While that can be good for general everyday shooting, it might be an issue if you want finer control over the stabilization by using different software–using software stabilization on footage that has already been stabilized can lead to some pretty strange results.

Digital Zoom

The Silver has a digital zoom feature that you can use while shooting video. It’s worth knowing that this is an electronic zoom, not an optical one. You use it with a touch slider on the back screen.

Note that there are two important limitations on using the digital zoom: you can’t use it when shooting 4K, and you can’t use it in the Slo-Mo mode.

Exposure Control

Like all GoPros, the Silver uses automatic exposure. You don’t have the same fine tuning controls or even manual options of the Black, but you at least have a little control by being able to specify which part of the frame is used to calculate the automatic exposure.

It’s simple to use–you just touch the back screen on the part of the frame that you want to use for the basis of the automatic exposure control. It comes in very useful in shots where there’s a wide dynamic range, or high contrast between highlights and shadows. An example might be if the sky is getting blown out (too bright) but you want to highlight some dramatic clouds, in which case you can touch the sky area on the back screen and the automatic exposure will be calculated using that part of the frame. Another example might be if a person’s face is in shadow, so you can select their face in the frame and it should lighten the overall exposure by trying to correctly expose the face.

Note that exposure control is different to the exposure compensation that’s available on the Black. Exposure compensation lets you set a value for under or over-exposing by a designated amount as a way to override the standard automatic exposure.

Highlight Tagging

The highlight tagging feature that the last several generations of GoPros have had is also available on the Silver. It lets you mark specific moments as they happen so that you can quickly reference them later when editing in the GoPro app or GoPro Studio (but not in other video editing apps). Highlight tags can be added on-the-fly in-camera, using the GoPro mobile app, or with the Smart Remote.

Short Clips

This is a new feature that GoPro introduced with the HERO7 models. It lets you shoot 15 or 30-second clips that are designed for quick sharing online. All of the HERO7 models have it, including the Silver.

This isn’t a performance feature–it’s a convenience feature, part of the effort to make GoPros easier to use. They’re ideal for quick shots to share on social media.

They can be shot in 4K or in the Slo-Mo mode.

Slow Motion

The Silver can record slow motion, sort of. It’s a much more limited feature than on the Black. In this case, it records at 60 frames per second and plays back at 30 frames per second. It’s half speed, or 2x slow motion, which is not especially dramatic. So the feature is there, but if you need more powerful slow motion options you’ll be wanting to look at the higher models such as the Black.

It’s only available in the 1440p resolution. To use the Slo-Mo feature, tap on the snail icon on the back screen–it doesn’t show up as a distinct shooting mode when using the GoPro mobile app.

Time-lapse Video

The Silver can do time-lapse video, which compiles the video in the camera and outputs it as an MP4 video file.

The Silver’s time-lapse video function is a little more powerful than the White’s in that you can choose to save it as a 4K video or a 1440p (the White can only do 1440p), but you’re still limited to the 0.5-second interval. You can’t choose longer intervals like you can on the Black.

Starting and Stopping Video

There are several different ways you can control the video record button. The most obvious is to use the shutter button on the camera. You can also use voice control, the GoPro mobile app, or the Smart Remote or REMO remote.

Where to Buy

You can find the HERO7 Silver at Amazon and B&H Photo.

If you buy directly from GoPro.com, they’re throwing in free 2-day shipping and a memory card.

GoPro HERO7 Cameras Compared

 HERO7 BlackHERO7 SilverHERO7 White
gopro hero7 black - Shooting Video with the GoPro HERO7 Silver: Resolutions, Framerates, and Featuresgopro hero7 silver - Shooting Video with the GoPro HERO7 Silver: Resolutions, Framerates, and Featuresgopro hero7 white - Shooting Video with the GoPro HERO7 Silver: Resolutions, Framerates, and Features
MSRP$399.99$299.99$199.99
Buy AtAmazon
B&H Photo
GoPro.com
Adorama
Walmart
Amazon
B&H Photo
GoPro.com
Adorama
Walmart
Amazon
B&H Photo
GoPro.com
Adorama
Walmart

VIDEO SPECS

Resolution / Max fps4K / 60
4K (4:3) / 30
2.7K / 120
2.7K (4:3) / 60
1440p / 120
1080p / 240
960p / 240
720p / 240
4K / 30
1440p / 60
1080p / 60
1440p / 60
1080p / 60
StabilizationHyperSmoothStandardStandard
Max Bitrate78 Mb/s60 Mb/s40 Mb/s
FOVsWide
Medium
Linear
SuperView
WideWide
File Format (Codec)MP4 (HEVC / H.265)
MP4 (H.264 / AVC)
MP4 (H.264 / AVC)MP4 (H.264 / AVC)
Protune✓--
Digital Zoom✓✓✓
Looping✓--
Audio TrackWAV + AACAACAAC
External Mic Compatibility✓--
HDMI Video Out✓--
Live Streaming✓--

PHOTO SPECS

Max Photo Size12MP10MP10MP
FOVsWide
Linear
WideWide
File FormatRAW (.gpr)
JPG
JPGJPG
Protune✓--
In-Camera Image EnhancementSuperPhotoWDR-
Top Burst Mode30 / 115 / 115 / 1
Continuous Photo✓✓✓
Night Photo✓--
Photo Timer✓✓✓

TIME-LAPSE SPECS

Timelapse Photo✓--
Timelapse Video✓✓✓
Nightlapse✓--
TimeWarp Video✓--

INTERFACE SPECS

Built-in Touchscreen✓✓✓
Front Screen✓--
Voice Control✓✓✓
WiFi / Bluetooth✓✓✓
USB Port TypeUSB-CUSB-CUSB-C

DESIGN & BUILD SPECS

Waterproof Body✓✓✓
Dimensions62.3 x 44.9 x 33 mm62.3 x 44.9 x 28.3 mm62.3 x 44.9 x 28.3 mm
Weight4.1 oz / 116 g3.3 oz / 94.4 g3.26 / 92.4 g

OTHER SPECS

Battery Type1220 mAh1220 mAh (non-removable)1220 mAh (non-removable)
QuikCapture✓✓✓
GPS✓✓-
Memory CardRecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendations
* Not every feature is available in every shooting mode. As examples, video stabilization is not available in every resolution/framerate combination and the option to save RAW images is not available in burst mode.

  1. NTSC and PAL refer to video format standards that are used in different parts of the world for recording, broadcasting, and displaying video. It’s most relevant for things like televisions, DVDs, and Blu-ray, and is much less relevant to sharing digital video on the web or through mobile devices. So if you’re shooting video to share on the web or social media, it doesn’t matter which you choose, but to simplify your editing workflow it’s easier to choose either NTSC or PAL and stick to it. NTSC is the standard in the Americas, while PAL is used in the UK and Australia. ↩

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By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on October 12, 2020

Categories: Video
Tags: GoPro HERO7 Silver

I may earn a commission for purchases using links on this page. Learn more.

GoPro News & Deals

New Smart Remote GoPro will be announcing the new Smart Remote for the HERO9 Black on December 17, 2020. The HERO9 Black isn’t compatible with the previous version of the Smart Remote.

HERO8 Black firmware v2.0 now available. Enables webcam mode; enables Display Mod compatibility; expands HyperSmooth 2.0 High and Boost availability to more video settings; general bug fixes. Update through the mobile app or manually.

GoPro Launches New Live Streaming Service for GoPro PLUS. GoPro has launched their own live-streaming platform for PLUS subscribers. It’s a pretty bare-bones offering for now, with livestreams shared with a dedicated URL. This is alongside their efforts to make the HERO8 Black useful as a webcam when connected to a computer (via USB plug-in-play, not requiring the Media Mod accessory with HDMI out). New firmware adds that functionality for Mac users, and the Windows version is in Beta.

New GoPro Zeus Mini Video Light. GoPro has released released a new video LED light designed to complement their GoPro cameras. It’s tiny, waterproof, and has a built-in magnetic swiveling clip. It’s waterproof down to 33 feet (10 meters), has four levels of brightness, and includes a diffuser to cool the color temperature to 5000K. GoPro claims that the built-in battery lasts up to 6 hours (presumably at the lowest brightness setting, although they don’t specify). It’s available now and priced at $69.99.

DJI Osmo Action firmware update adds live streaming. DJI has released a firmware update for the Osmo Action (v. 01.08.00.10) that adds live streaming support, so you can upload directly to platforms like Facebook and YouTube (it goes through the DJI Mimo mobile app). They’ve also improved the in-camera video stabilization. You can find the new firmware here.

New Underwater Housing for GoPro HERO8 Black from Isotta. Isotta, an Italian brand specializing in underwater housings, has announced a new high-quality underwater housing for the HERO8 Black. It’s an aluminum housing depth-rated to 650 feet (200 meters), has a one-handed open/close switch, double o-rings, and can be used with filters. There’s also a dual-handled tray to go along with it. And like all their housings, it’s in their distinctive red. Priced at $450, it’s only for those who need a highly specialized piece of underwater kit. It’s available for preorder from underwater specialists Backscatter.

Light Mod Now Shipping The Light Mod, one of the three new GoPro accessories, is now shipping. It’s a standalone light that is waterproof, rechargeable and compatible with all GoPro mounts. It was originally announced along with the HERO8 Black, but it hasn’t been available until now. It’s priced at $49.99, and you can find them at GoPro.com.

GoPro MAX Now Shipping. The new 360° camera, the MAX, is now shipping.

GoPro HERO8 Black and Max Unveiled. The new GoPro cameras and accessories have been unveiled. I have a rundown of the highlights of the HERO8 Black here.

DJI Osmo Action vs GoPro HERO7 Black. I’ve posted my detailed hands-on comparison of the Osmo Action and the HERO7 Black. There’s a lot similar between the models, but once you start digging down into the details there are differences that can help in choosing between them. And each has strengths the other doesn’t have. You can find my review here.

GoPro HyperSmooth vs DJI RockSteady. The new DJI Osmo Action also has built-in electronic stabilization to smooth out video. They’re calling it RockSteady (GoPro has HyperSmooth). I’ve been out testing them side-by-side. You can see the results here.

GoPro Deals page. I’ve put together a dedicated page on GoPro deals. So if you’re looking for cheap GoPro deals, check it out.

DJI Osmo action 4K Camera. Best known for their camera drones, DJI has released a new 4K action cam that’s taking direct aim at the GoPro HERO7 Black. It shoots up to 4K60 video and 12MP stills, includes electronic stabilization, has high-dynamic range video at 4K30, voice commands, a touchscreen on the back and another smaller live view screen on the front, and is waterproof down to 36 feet (11 meters). It’s priced at $349, and they’re now available at B&H Photo.

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About Me

I’m a professional travel & location photographer based in Washington DC and traveling all over. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between.

I’ve owned and used every GoPro since the HD HERO and particularly like finding new and different ways to use them to capture photos, video, and time-lapse.

You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com.

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